


The Ashen Demon

by Cynder_Dragon



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Male Character, Blood Kink, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23188882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynder_Dragon/pseuds/Cynder_Dragon
Summary: The Ashen Demon, as fascinating and attractive as a fire that leaves nothing but ashes behind if you get too close.The young and mischievous Prince, that fled his country to find a better place to live. With hopes of finding a safe shelter to secure his future.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	1. The Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story so I hope it will still be fine to read. I got inspired by a prompt and started writing but it got out of hand quickly x)  
> This is just the beginning but I want this story to turn smutty so be prepared for it :)

It was a rainy and windy night, and it felt even worse for some reason when he entered the forest. He wasn’t quite used to this new climate but at least he wasn’t overwhelmed by the heat. Even if, at this moment, he couldn’t tell what he preferred. He clung to his coat and try to walk through the trees faster, not seeing much with only the moonlight as a light source.

After some time, he finally saw a clear path. He sighed, relieved, and he hurried on but right before coming out of the forest, he stopped. His instincts reminded him to always be careful about what seemed like a good escape, that usually is a trap. He decided to slow down and wait behind the trees for a few minutes to observe the area. Nothing happened. He waited, and after a while, he saw some lights in the distance. That could be a much-needed shelter, or his last destination. How is a man supposed to decide?

Well, if the lights he saw really were from someone’s place, they could possibly be friendly. He had to take the chance; the cold night wouldn’t give him much time to think this through anyway. So, he advanced towards the lights, still hidden behind trees as a precaution. After a while, he realized that the lights were coming from the different windows of a mansion. He was impressed, but just in case, he took the dagger at his side and slowly approached the door. He hid the dagger in his hand behind his back and knocked on the door.

A moment passed but nobody answered so he knocked again.

“Hello? Is somebody there?”, said the young man, asking himself more and more questions as time passed.  
He tried knocking again, harder this time, and finally heard some noise from the other side of the door. He took a few steps back, waiting for the door to open and ask whoever he’d see if he could stay until the rain stopped. But when that moment finally arrived, he couldn’t say anything.

~ ~

“Yes? Can I help you?”, answered a beautiful and well sculpted man, breathing heavily and slightly sweating like he had been running for a while. He had a pale skin that contrasted so well with his hair and eyes’ color. A beautiful, shiny and light green that made him look so fascinating. Before getting lost in a trance, the young man finally found his voice again.

“Uhm, sorry to disturb you so late at night but I hoped to find a shelter from the rain. Is it possible to stay here for a while, sir? Please.”  
“Yes of course, you must be cold. Come in.”  
“Thank you very much!”, the young one said while coming inside. When the door closed, he turned around and extended his hand.  
“By the way, my name is Claude. Nice to meet you.”  
“Very pleased, my name is Byleth.”, answered the host, shaking his gloved hand with his visitor.  
“Sorry for my neglected appearance, I was practicing swordsmanship in the training grounds. You can wait for me in the living room just behind those doors, I’ll ask a maid to prepare some tea for you.”, Byleth said showing a direction with his hand.  
“Oh, but just so you know, hiding a hand behind your back gives a terrible first impression.”

~ ~

With that, Byleth left swiftly, and Claude stayed speechless. He turned around, eyes growing bigger while looking at that strange host that fascinated him even more even if it worried him a little. He observed him leaving, unable to look away and finally released his tight hold on the dagger to put it back at his waist.

Claude sighed, “Well, that’s promising”.

He took the direction of the living room and observed the place. It was nice and cozy, not too luxurious. Surprising from a big mansion like this one. Growing up in a palace himself, he learned that those who were too attached to material things were just as superficial as their treasures. This wasn’t the case here however; the only shiny things Claude saw so far were Byleth’s eyes and hair. That will haunt him for a long time, that was a certainty. Those hair seemed so soft and his eyes really attracted him as much as they scared him. They really pierced through his trick with ease and that’s something Claude wasn’t used to. Yet, he didn’t want to flee. For some reason, he wanted to stay. His natural curiosity made him want to discover more and it took more space in his heart and mind than his fear of his façade being broken down. For the very first time.

Now that was a scary thought; learning the hard way that life is precious and must be protected at all cost from everyone by listening to your instincts, to finally give a chance to a stranger you barely talked to just because he was nice? No, there’s actually more to it than that. Byleth saw that something was going on but decided not to do much about it and give him a chance. How could he decline that? After all the man had just said he knew how to use a sword, surely he would have stopped him before he could even attack with his dagger.

Claude smiled though, sat on a sofa and closed his eyes a moment while waiting for his intriguing host.

A maid arrived soon after with a tray, put it down on the small table in front of Claude and served the tea.

“Thank you”, Claude said politely.  
“Mister Eisner said that you could start drinking the tea and eat the cookies without him to warm you up. But if it’s not enough we can light the fireplace for you.”  
“I’d really appreciate it, thank you Miss.”  
“My pleasure sir”, the maid bowed  
“No need to be so formal with me really"  
“I’ll try to keep that in mind, but I can’t promise anything. May I at least take your coat to dry it up sir? Or you might catch a cold”  
“Oh, right that. I, uh, completely forgot for some reason. Must be the warm atmosphere of this place, strange”. Claude got up and took his coat off to hand it to the maid.  
“Thanks for your help”  
“At your service sir”

She then took the coat in her arms and left the room. Claude turned around and felt bad for sitting down with wet clothes on the couch, so he took his teacup and sat down on the floor, in front of the fireplace.

He drank slowly, then touched his hair, that started to stick to his face. His hand then touched his little braid and he stopped moving. This little braid that attracted others’ eyes so often, the particularity that had so much significance to him. Yet, lately, he felt like it didn’t belong with him anymore. He went through a lot since he got it and yet, he felt like this time was different.  
Claude got so lost in his thought, his fingers slowly touching his braid, he barely noticed the man coming in the room. He politely saluted him, started the fire and left as quickly as he came. But Claude didn’t move. He even forgot he was holding a teacup. And that’s how Byleth, a few minutes later found him.

~ ~

Surprised, he observed the young man a moment, then got closer. He took a blanket in the chest next to the couch and slowly covered the man who got slightly startled.  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”  
“Oh no, it’s alright. It’s my fault, thanks for the blanket”  
Byleth nodded, served himself a cup of tea and sat next to Claude. He slowly drank his tea and watched the fire.

Claude observed him a moment.  
“You don’t have any questions for me?”  
“You really seemed affected by the thoughts you had at that moment; I don’t want to add to your pain. As I told you when you arrived, you are welcomed here, no matter what  
happened to you before.”  
Byleth took a sip of his tea and turned his head towards Claude.  
“Now if you want to talk about something, I’ll be glad to listen."

Claude didn’t know why, but he really felt like he could trust that man. His green eyes seemed sincere and that left him speechless.  
“Just don’t force yourself Claude, that’s perfectly fine to not be in a good mood and to want to keep to yourself. I understand.”  
Claude sighed and smiled.  
“Thank you Byleth, your words are already helping.”

Byleth smiled and turned back to the fire, sipping his tea. Claude then did the same and finished his tea silently.  
Now that he was back from his clouded mind, he noticed that Byleth was wearing light clothes and removed his gloves. His skin was pale, but he didn’t seem to be cold. Was he not feeling the chill temperature? Maybe that’s because of the fire. Damn it, there he goes getting lost in his mind again. He couldn’t help it, he kept glancing at Byleth’s side and hands. Until he saw eyes on him again. He eyes got wide and he quickly turned towards the fireplace, cheeks getting red.

“Are you alright? I hope you’re not getting a fever. Did you stay outside in the rain a long time?”

Well at least he didn’t suspect the crazy train of thought Claude actually had, that’s good.

“I lost track of time to be honest but it’s fine no worries.”  
Claude smiled but that didn’t convince Byleth.  
“Mhm, maybe you should get some proper rest. Come with me, I’ll show you your room for tonight.”  
Byleth stood up, put his teacup down on the table and extended his hand for Claude. The young man stayed there a moment, surprised, then smiled.


	2. The Legend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude really can't help but figure out all the secrets that surrounds him, and this specific one won't take long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story seems to be getting longer everytime I come back to it x)  
> Please be patient with me though, it should get more interesting from now on.

Finally, Claude took the offered hand to get up. It was cold.

That really surprised the young man, but he kept it to himself and stood up. 

“I’ll show you your room, some clothes have been prepared for you to change. This way please.”  
Byleth smiled, and left the living room, Claude following closely.

They went up the stairs and to the left.

“Here it is, and just in front of your room you have the bathroom. There’s a library at the end of the corridor if you can’t sleep. My room is at the end on the other side.”

“Thank you Byleth, I really appreciate all the efforts.”  
Byleth smiled, nodded and went on the right to reach his room. 

Claude observed him a moment with a smile and entered his room. He leaned on the closed door and sighed. His smile disappeared.

He looked at the room and when he saw the pile of clothes on the bed, decided to change. 

He first took his diary, hidden in his back, between his belt and shirt. He put it on the nightstand. 

He changed, put all his wet clothes in the basket in the back of the room and sat on the bed.

He took his diary and opened it on the first page to read all the testimonies he heard on his way to the forest.

At first, he wrote in his diary all the differences he witnessed from the villages he crossed after leaving his home.

Their different ways of living, talking and behaving. All the different food he tasted, the drinks, beautiful environments.

But then, he started to hear stories, different beliefs the villagers had, and it piqued his curiosity. He even tried to draw some of the creatures of the stories, which made some of them too childish for him to believe could be real.

And then one day, in a small town, not far from the manor, he heard some interesting rumors.

~ ~

Some talked about strange occurrences that happened to them when they went camping in the forest nearby; others talked about a cold-blooded monster, hunting in the forest at night and that loved human flesh more than anything. 

They said that if the beast didn’t receive any visits in a while, he would be ruthless, but if the villagers had some offerings, he would leave them in peace for a while and only play some tricks on them.

The beast was strong, and nothing could make it stop, not even soldiers sent to capture it. 

That really seemed unbelievable to Claude at first. 

And then he remembered that his precious wyverns, back in the Almyran kingdom, were monsters people talked about to scare children and not creatures that could possibly exist for real. So, he started to wonder.

Could there really be a monster in the nearby forest?

He had to see it.

You can’t just decide to leave somewhere unprepared though if you want to survive so, he gathered as much information as he could on the local rumors and on the woods. 

He wrote some survival advice from hunters and from those who went camping and came back in the little town.

He prepared a little bag with a dagger and some potions he had made himself and hid another dagger in his trousers' big pocket.

He knew two of his potions were strong enough to put a man to sleep but the other two he made had an unknown effect.  
He thought it was silly but at the same time thrilling.

He ran out of Almyran’s plants when he started his experiments and he wasn’t sure the ones he found in this country could be enough, but that’s all he had.

In hope he could test them on some animals in the forest, he still took the potions and decided to try his luck.

He asked one of the “survivors” of the forest to guide him.

The man couldn’t help but tell everybody his story after all, so why not do something useful this time?

But unfortunately for Claude, the man didn’t actually know his way in the forest and got lost several times, guiding them back to the village twice.

After a while, when the sun started to set down, the man got scared and even started to sweat.

His breathing got erratic and he started to shake. 

With no warnings, he turned around and completely panicked said that it was time to leave before Death finds them both.

He then ran away, not really knowing where, and leaving Claude alone.

~ ~

“What a strange mess, I got involved in this time.” Claude sighed.

“If there’s a demon here, it doesn’t seem to be the one people talk about. But I could write about Byleth in the diary. That encounter sure is worth remembering.”  
Claude smiled and then looked around.

“Wait, where’s my bag? Oh yeah, in the living room. I completely forgot it.”

He hid his diary under his pillow and left the room in search of his forgotten bag, hoping nobody had the idea of looking inside.

He found his way easily and looked around.

He finally spotted his bag next to the couch and grabbed it. He checked that everything was still there and return in his room.

But when he climbed the stairs and turned to get to his room, he saw an opened door farther away in the corridor.

Did Byleth decide to read a bit in the library? Maybe, and he probably didn’t want to be disturbed.

But then, maybe he left the door open because he wouldn’t mind?

Claude bit his lip hesitating.

“Damn you, insane curiosity!”

He went in his room again but just to put his bag down, take a bottle with one of his mixture, that he put in his pocket just in case, and decided to get to the library. 

He gently pushed the door and noticed that the room was dark.

“Hello? Is someone in here?”

No response.

He turned on the light and got impressed by the big collection of books in there. But he still didn’t see anybody.

“Maybe someone just came to get a book and left.”  
He shrugged and looked at the books’ titles on the shelves.

“That’s a very diversified collection, impressive.”

He took a moment to observe his surroundings, found a few interesting books and put them on the table near the window.

He looked at another shelf, wondering if he would find some books to keep in his bedroom after his little reading session here in the library.

He then saw some unexpected books, classified in the category [Legends and mysteries].

He quickly made the decision to read those books instead and put back the others where they originally were.

“I wonder if I’ll find some rumors in those books that I’ve heard of.” 

And indeed, he found some of them even if told differently and discovered others. 

He was so intrigued by all those tales and illustrations that he didn’t notice the person walking towards the library and stopping at the door.

Byleth stopped for a moment to observe this strange visitor once more.

He slightly smiled, put the book in his hand on a table and approached Claude.

“For a person that seems rather suspicious of others, you’re really letting your guard down a lot.”

That startled Claude once more, but this time, he cut himself with the page he was holding.

Byleth’s smile froze. 

Claude barely had the time to grab his finger that Byleth appeared next to him from the other side of the room.

Claude’s eyes open wide. This library is huge, there is no way a normal man can walk this fast.

It didn’t last long, but Claude saw Byleth’s eyes color change and, with the moonlight through the window, his skin looked even paler. He then heard the little moan the man made before taking his finger in his mouth.

Byleth carefully bit under the wound.

“The pressure should slow the flow down a bit. Enough to go to the bathroom. Come now.”

Like he had a choice.

Byleth grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the library and walk towards the bathroom to get a first aid-kit.

He patched his finger up quickly but Claude noticed that his breathing was uneven.

“So it was true.” 

Byleth stopped for a moment and sighed.

He put the kit back in the cabinet and finally looked back at Claude.

His eyes were glowing red.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading it, I hope you liked it so far. I'm open to suggestions so feel free to leave a comment.


End file.
